Multiple use body support

ABSTRACT

A contoured body support defining a first support surface for supporting the trunk of a person, a second support surface for supporting the head of the person extending from one end of the first support surface at an angle thereto; and a pair of third support surfaces on each side of the second support surface and extending from one end of the first support surface at a greater angle with respect to the first support surface than the angle of the second support surface with respect to the first support surface for supporting the arms of the person and leaving a sufficient area to support a substantial portion of the person&#39;&#39;s forearms. A support platform is adjustably mounted on the body support at the first support surface and is selectively movable therealong to support a person in the seated or prone position. A support stand is provided for selectively supporting the body support at a convenient angle. A swing support is provided for mounting the body support as a swing. A support frame for utilizing the body support as a walker is provided and includes caster wheels and a means for maintaining the person in a position so that his trunk rests on the first support surface while allowing his feet to contact the floor for propulsion.

United States Patent [191 Carstensen [52] U.S. Cl. ..297/377, 5/66, 297/411, 272/85 [51] Int. Cl. ..B47c 4/02, A6lg 7/10 [58] Field of Search ..5/60, 66-69,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Primary Examiner-Casmir A. Nunberg Attorney- B. J. Powell 3,733,104 [4 1 May 15,1973

[57] ABSTRACT A contoured body support defining a first support surface for supporting the trunk of a person, a second support surface for supporting the head of the person extending from one end of the first support surface at an angle thereto; and a pair of third support surfaces on each side of the second support surface and extending from one end of the first support surface at a greater angle with respect to the first support surface than the angle of the second support surface with respect to the first support surface for supporting the arms of the person and leaving a sufficient area to support a substantial portion of the persons forearms. A support platform is adjustably mounted on the body support at the first support surface and is selectively movable therealong to support a person in the seated or prone position. A support stand is provided for selectively supporting the body support at a convenient angle. A swing support is provided for mounting the body support as a swing. A support frame for utilizing the body support as a walker is provided and includes caster wheels and a means for maintaining the person in a position so that his trunk rests on the first support surface while allowing his feet to contact the floor for propulsion.

9 Claims, 14 Drawing Figures PAIENIEMAH 5 ma 3. 733. 1 04 SHEET 1 [1F 4 PATENIEDHAY 1 3; 733, 1 04 SHEET 3 [JP 4 1 MULTIPLE USE BODY SUPPORT CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a continuation-in-part of my co- BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention This invention relates generally to a support for persons having limited ambulatory capabilities and is more particularly concerned with a body support for utilization with a plurality of attachments to serveas a therapeutic aid. 1

2. Background of the Invention Many body supports designed for infants and other persons having limited ambulatory capabilities are on the market today. Most of these prior art body supports support a person in such a manner that his activity is substantially limited to a sitting position. Moreover, such body supports support the person in an unnatural and uncomfortable position and do not provide support for the person in such a manner. that his head and arms can be lifted for free movement and then lowered for resting whenever the person desires.

Most of the present body supports for small infants are based on the theory that the infant needs very little movement during the early months of life since the infant is not old enough to learn. Current research on the human learning process, however, places much emphasis on the very early months of life. Research results will illustrate that a normal infant is very observant, receptive, and displays great learning ability, even at this very young age. If properly stimulated then, the infant can learn much earlier and at a much faster rate than previously thought. Modern educational psychologists now seem skeptical of the trite ancient phrase of being old enough to learn. To the contrary, babies begin to learn and differentiate the moment they are born. Recent research results also show a strong correlation between enriched and challenging environments and high achievement.

This newer philosophy toward' learning inspires us to provide the infant with an environment wider in scope and variety of experience to encourage and challenge his active involvement with his surroundings. By offering aids that complement his naturally limited physical ability, his capability to observe his environment more closely as well as becoming to some degree more mobile within it, can be expanded. This same philosophy can be applied to the physically handicapped with similar results.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION These and other problems associated with prior art body supports are overcome by the invention disclosed herein in that the body support provides a first contoured surface for supporting the trunk of a person, a second contoured surface extending from one end of the first surface at an angle thereto to provide support for the head of the person, and a pair of third contoured surfaces extending from that end of the first surface from which the second surface extends. and on each side of the second surface at an angle with respect to both the first surface and the second surface to provide support for the arms of the person.

When the person is placed on the support in a prone position, the arms rest on the third surfaces and the head rests on the second surface. Because the second and third surfaces angle away from the first surface, this places the person at a comfortable angle to raise his arms and head at will for substantially unrestricted movement thereof yet allows the person to rest his head and arms at will when he becomes tired. The area of each of the thirdsurfaces is sufficient to support substantially the entire length of the forearm of the person using same. This allows a person who does not have sufficient strength to raise himself on his hands to still be able to raise himself on his forearms to view his surroundings.

When the person is placed in a supine position with his trunk on the first surface of the body support, the second support surface supports the head of the person in a normal posture position so that the neck of the person is not bent in an unnatural angle. By providing such a body support, the person is able to raise is head and arms to view his surroundings and exercise while at the same time providing a comfortable resting position for his head and arms when he becomes tired.

The apparatus of the invention further includes a support platform which is adjustably positioned along the first surface so that the person may be placed on the body support in a seated position or in a prone position with the legs extended. With his legs extended, the person may exercise his legs against the support platform. A support stand is provided for positioning the body support at a convenient angle while the person is seated or in a prone position on the body support. The support stand positions the second support surface substantially horizontal.

A swing attachment is provided for the body support for mounting the body support as a swing so that a person resting on the body support with his legs extending therefrom may propel the swing with his legs. This assists in helping the person coordinate his movements. In addition, a support frame with casters thereon is provided for mounting the body support and, in conjunction with a carriage member, maintains the person against the body support while carrying his weight. This serves as a mobile walker so that the person not only can move about in his environment, but can also raise his head and view his environment as he moves therein.

These and other features and advantages of the inv'ention will become more clearly understood upon consideration of the following specification and accompanying drawings wherein like characters of reference designate corresponding parts throughout and in which:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the invention shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 3-3 in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 4-4 in FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view illustrating the support platform mounted on the body support illustrated in FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 6-6 in FIG. illustrating the adjusting mechanism associated with the support platform;

FIG. 7 is a bottom elevational view of the support platform illustrating the means for activating the adjusting mechanism of the support platform;

FIG. 8 is a side elevational view of the body support shown in FIG. I with a support stand therefor;

FIG. 9 is a front elevational view of the body support as shown in FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a side elevational view of the body support of FIG. l with a support frame having casters thereon attached to the body support and a carriage member for supporting a person on the body support;

FIG. 1 l-is a front elevational view of the embodiment of the invention shown in FIG. 10;

FIG. 12 is a rear elevational view showing the construction of the carriage member of that embodiment of the invention shown in FIGS. 10 and 11;

FIG. 13 is a side elevational view of the body support shown in FIG. 1 with a swing attachment therefor; and

FIG. 14 is a partial cross-sectional view showing the attachment of the swing structure of the body support.

These figures and the following detailed description disclose specific embodiments of the invention, however, the inventive concept is not limited thereto since it may be embodied in other forms.

DESCRIPTION OF ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENTS Referring to FIGS. 1, 2, 3 and 4 it will be seen that the invention includes a body support 10 having a trunk supporting section A, a head supporting section B integral with the section A and a pair of arm supporting sections C and C integral with the sections A and B. The sections C and C are on opposite sides of the section B. Thus, it will be seen that the section A supports the trunk of an individual while the section B supports the head of the individual in a natural position. The section B provides sufficient clearance for the individual to raise his head at will to view his environment, yet comfortably rest his head when he becomes tired. It will be also seen that the sections C and C provide support of the arms and shoulders of the person resting on the body support member 10 while providing enough clearance for the person to freely raise his arms and move them, yet allow the individual to comfortably rest his arms when he becomes tired.

Referring specifically to FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 it will be seen that the trunk supporting section A includes a slightly concave support plate 11 having a length sufficient to receive the trunk of a person thereon. A contoured support surface X is defined by the upper surface of the plate 11. The plate 11 may be constructed of fiberglass or some other easily formably material and is reinforced with transversely extending braces 12 complimentary shaped to fit under the bottom of the plate 11. It will be understood, of course, that the length of the support plate 11 will'depend on the size of the person utilizing the body support 10. Thus, the trunk of a person can be placed on the section A at the contoured support surface X so that his head and arms extend above the upper end of the surface X while his legs and feet extend past the lower end thereof. The concavity of the surface X serves to center the individual with the section A and prevent the individual from inadvertently falling from the body support 10.

The head supporting section B is integral with and extends from the upper end of the trunk supporting section A and includes a support plate 14. The support plate 14 is integral with the upper end of the plate 11 and defines a head supporting surface Y which joins with the trunk supporting surface X through a smoothly flowing curve. It will be noted from FIG. 2 that the head supporting surface Y defines an included obtuse angle a with the trunk supporting surface X. This angle a is such that a person whose trunk is resting on the support surface X can rest his head on the support surface Y in a natural and comfortable position yet be able to raise is head above the support surface Y so that he may turn his head and view his environment. A longitudinally extending brace 15 extends upwardly from the upper brace 12 and under the plate 14 to reinforce the same.

Since the arm supporting sections C and C' are mirror images of each other only the supporting section C will be described in detail with primes of the reference numbers applied thereto being applied to the corresponding portions of the section C. The section C includes an arm support plate 16 which is integral with both the upper end of the support plate 1 1 and with the right side of the support plate 14 as seen in FIG. 1 and generates a smoothly flowing supporting surface Z which extends down and away from both the surface X and the surface Y. It will be seen in FIG. 2 and 4 that the surface Z defines an included obtuse angle B with the surface X and defines an included obtuse angle 7 with the surface Y. These angles are sufficient to allow a person having his trunk resting on the surface X to naturally and comfortably rest one of his arms on the support surface Z yet be able to raise his arm so that he has substantially unrestricted movement thereof to exercise the same. A brace 18 extends along the underside of the support plate 16 and 16' and the support plate 14 to reinforce the same along the extending ends thereof.

One value of angle a that has been found satisfactory is 200, however, it is to be understood that angle a may be varied as long as the person resting on body support 10 can rest his head on section B without his throat contacting the juncture of sections A and B and his neck is in substantial alignment with his backbone when his chin is resting on section B. This permits the person to rest comfortably with his chin on section A yet permits the person to raise his head sufficiently to view his surroundings without undue strain on his neck muscles. Thus, angle a must be more than 180 to allow a person to raise his head without undue strain on his neck muscles but less than 215 to prevent the juncture of sections A and B engaging the throat of the person so as to be uncomfortable. The surface area of section B is sufficient to comfortably support the chin of the person.

In order to support the persons arms at a comfortable and natural angle when his chin is resting on section B, sections C and C' must define angles [3 with section A greater than the angle a. On the other hand, an gles [-3 must not be so great as to cause the persons arms to tend to slip from sections C and C. Because the persons for whom the body support 10 is specifically designed usually do not have sufficient strength to raise themselves on their hands to view their surroundings but usually do have sufficient strength to raise themselves on their forearms, the angles ,8 must not be sufficiently great to prevent the person from thus sup porting himself on his forearms without his arms slipping off of sections C and C. These same considerations apply to the angles 7 between section B and sections C and C. Thus, angles B must be more than 205 and less than 225 while angles 1 must be more than 180 but less than 225.

Since the person must be able to support himself on his forearms, the surface dimensions of surfaces Z and 2 must be sufficient to support substantially the entire length of the persons forearms. Also, hand holes 100 may be provided along the outermost portion of sections C and C to provide a handle 101 for the person to grip and pull himself up on his forearms to view his surroundings.

In use, the support 10 is positional so that section B is substantially horizontal. This positions the person so that he can easily raise on his forearms to exercise and view his surroundings.

Referring more particularly to FIGS. 5 through 7, it will be seen that a support platform 19 is provided which can be adjustably moved along the support surface X to selectively support an individual in a seated position as shown in solid lines in FIG. 5 or in a prone position with his legs extended as shown by dashed lines in FIG. 5. The support platform 19 comprises generally a transversely extending platform member 20 which is maintained substantially perpendicular with respect to the support surface X and which is provided at its opposite ends with upstanding side members 21 and 21 The side members 21 and 21' prevent the person from f alling from the support 10.

The side members 21 and 21 are identical in construction so only the side member 21 will be described in detail with primes of the reference numbers applied thereto being applied to corresponding parts of the side member 21. The side members 21 and 21' extend upwardly along opposite edges of the support plate 1 1 and are mounted for slidably movement therealong by a pair of guide rods 22 spaced above and secured along each edge of the support plate 11. The side member 21 defines a guide recess 24 along the length thereof adapted to slidably receive the guide rod 22 therethrough so that the side member 21 can be selectively moved therealong.

For locking the side member 21 to the guide rod 22, A conventional friction member 25 is pivotally mounted in a recess 26 in the side member 21 and is spring urged toward the guide rod 22 by a spring 28. When the friction member 25 is in its normal position, it arrests the movement of the side member 21 along the guide rod 22 and thus locks the support platform 19 in position along the support plate 11. A flexible member 29 is connected to the friction member 25 in such a manner that when the flexible member 29 is pulled by the ring 30 attached thereto as shown in FIG. 7, the friction member 25 will be lifted from the guide rod 22 and the support platform 19 may be selectively moved along the length of the support member 11. It will be noted that the flexible member 29 in the side member 21 and the flexible member 29 and the side member 21 are both connected to the ring 30. When the ring 30 is pulled, both the friction member 25 in the side member 21 and the friction member 25 in the side member 21 will simultaneously be released so that the support platform 19 may be easily moved along the length of the support plate 11. When the support platform 19 is raised to an upward position, it supports a person so that his back rests against the trunk supporting section A and his head can rest on the surface Y in a natural position. In this position his neck is not bent so that he may comfortably sit.

Referring to FIGS. 8 and 9, it will be seen that a support stand 31 is provided which selectively supports the body support 10 in any of a plurality of positions so that the head supporting surface Y is at any convenient an gle. Therefore a position can be selected so that the person on the body support 10 can easily lift his head for viewing his surroundings and his arms for exercising while at the same time allowing the person to naturally and comfortably rest his head and arms when he becomes tired, especially when used with the platform 19. The support stand 31 includes a pair of legs 32, and one leg 32 extending from the brace 18 under the section C and the other leg 32 extending from the brace 18 under the section C. Appropriate braces 34 and 35 are provided to maintain the legs 32 in a vertical position and provide a rigid structure to support the person. The legs 32 may be extended through an adjustment mechanism 33 for adjusting the position of the support 10.

Referring to FIGS. 10-12, it will be seen that the body support 10 is carried by a support frame 40. The body support 10 has a foreshortened support plate 11 so that the body support 10 supports the person thereon from the waist up but frees a person thereon from the waist down for unrestricted movement of his legs and feet. It will also be noted that the body support 10 is positioned so that the support surface X defines an angle of approximately 45 with the vertical. The line of thrust as a person extends his legs in this position directs a large component of force forwardly to move the body support 10 and the frame forward.

The frame 40 includes a pair of front legs 41 and a pair of rear legs 42 which extend downwardly and away from the support frame 10 in such a manner that a persons legs extend between the rear legs 42 for substantially unrestricted movement thereof while providing a stable platform that does not easily tip. The legs 41 and 42 are connected by a cross-brace unit 44 to provide a rigid structure and a caster 45 of conventional design is provided at the lower extremity of each of the legs 41 and 42.

A carriage member 46 is provided which carries the weight of the person and is attached to the body support 10 so that the person carried by the carriage member 46 does not have to support his weight on his legs but does have substantially unrestricted movement thereof to propel himself. The carriage member 46 shown herein is a flexible strap connected to the lower end of the body support 10 and provided with hooks 48 at the two upper ends thereof which are adjustably positioned on the strap ends. The hooks 48 are hooked into eyelets 49 positioned on the underside of the support plate 11. The strap extends through the persons crotch and one end thereof extends around one leg of the person to be hooked in the eyelet 49 while the other end thereof extends around the other leg of the person and is hooked into the other eyelets 49. This supports the person so that his trunk rests on the support plate 1 1 and his head and arms can rest on the support plates 14, 16 and 16.

A cross bar 50 may be provided along the upper end of the body support 10 for the person to grasp and control the direction of movement of the walker defined by the body support 10 and the support frame 40 so that he can move around in his environment and view the same closer. This assists the person in coordinating his leg movements to get forward motion and in coordinating his hands and eye movements to direct the walker as it is being propelled.

Referring particularly to FIGS. 13 and 14, the body support 10 is provided with a swing attachment 60 for mounting the support 10 on existing structures as a swing. While it is understood that the attachment 60 may be varied to meet the particular environment in which it is used, it is shown here as adapted for mounting on a crib 61 as shown in dashed lines.

The attachment 60 comprises a pair of cross-bars 62 while lie across the top of the crib 61 and a plurality of flexible members 64 which extend from the cross bars 62 to each corner of the support 10. A hole 65 is provided at each corner of the support 10 through which one of the flexible members 64 extends and is knotted therebelow to carry the support 10.

While the support 10 may be mounted at any convenient angle by the members 64, it is shown at an angle whereby the surface X defines an angle of approximately 10 with the horizontal. Such an angle has been found satisfactory for the person on the support 10 to utilize his feet against one side of the crib 61 to set the swing in motion.

While specific embodiments of the invention have been disclosed herein, it is understood that for full use of substitutions, equivalents and modifications may be utilized without departing from the scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A body support for supporting a person while permitting substantially unrestricted movement of his arms and shoulders, and permitting said person to support his upper trunk on his arms comprising:

a trunk supporting section defining a first support surface for supporting the trunk of the body of a person while confining the lateral movement thereof;

a head supporting section defining a second support surface extending angularly away from one end of said first support surface and defining an included obtuse angle with said first surface;

an arm support section defining a piar of third supporting surfaces extending angularly away from opposite sides of one end of said first support surface and defining included obtuse angles with both said first and second surfaces to support the arms of said person at a natural comfortable angle yet allowing said person to raise on his arms to view his surroundings;

said second support surface extending between said third support surfaces at an angle with respect to said first support surfaces less than the angles of said third support surfaces with respect to said first support surface; and,

a support platform adjustably positioned on said trunk supporting section to maintain the trunk of a person resting on said first support surface in a sitting or prone position.

2. A body support as set forth in claim 7 wherein said arm supporting section further defines hand holes through the extending portion of each of said third supporting surfaces.

3. The body support of claim 2 further including positioning means for maintaining the longitudinal position of the trunk of a person on said trunk supporting section.

4. The body support of claim 3 wherein said platform means includes a support platform and means for adjusting the position of said support platform along said trunk supporting section to maintain the trunk of the person resting on said first surface in a sitting or prone position.

5. A body support as set forth in claim 4 further including a support stand operatively connected to said trunk supporting section, said head supporting section, and said arm supporting section for selectively positioning said third surface at a convenient angle.

6. A body support for supporting a person while permitting substantially unrestricted movement of his arms and head comprising:

a trunk supporting section defining a first concave support surface for supporting the trunk of body of the person;

a head supporting section extending away from one end of said trunk supporting section and defining a second support surface centrally located on said one end of said first support surface for supporting the head of the person; and,

an arm supporting section at said one end of said trunk supporting section on opposite sides of said head supporting section, said arm supporting section defining a pair of third supporting surfaces on opposite sides of said head supporting surface for supporting the arms of the person thereon, said first and second surfaces defining a first included obtuse angle therebetween in a longitudinally extending plane greater than and less than 215, said first surface and each of said third surfaces defining a second included obtuse angle therebetween in a longitudinally extending plane greater than 205 and less than 225, said second included obtuse angle greater than said first included obtuse angle, and said second surface and each of said third surfaces defining a third included obtuse angle therebetween in a transversely extending plane greater than 180 and less than 225, each of said third supporting surfaces having a sufficiently large support area to support substantially the entire length of the forearms of the person and said first, second, and third surfaces connected to each other through a smooth transition.

7. A body support as set forth in claim 6 wherein said first angle is approximately and said second angles are approximately 215.

8. A body support as set forth in claim 6 further including a swing attachment including securing means for mounting on an existing structure and means connecting said securing means to said supporting sections for allowing said supporting sections to swing freely.

9. A body support as set forth in claim 6 further including a support frame mounting said supporting sections, said support frame including a plurality of casters adapted to roll along a surface; and means for positioning the person on said trunk supporting section and for carrying substantially all of the weight of the person while at the same time allowing free use of the persons legs. 

1. A body support for supporting a person while permitting substantially unrestricted movement of his arms and shoulders, and permitting said person to support his upper trunk on his arms comprising: a trunk supporting section defining a first support surface for supporting the trunk of the body of a person while confining the lateral movement thereof; a head supporting section defining a second support surface extending angularly away from one end of said first support surface and defining an included obtuse angle with said first surface; an arm support section defining a piar of third supporting surfaces extending angularly away from opposite sides of one end of said first support surface and defining included obtuse angles with both said first and second surfaces to support the arms of said person at a natural comfortable angle yet allowing said person to raise on his arms to view his surroundings; said second support surface extending between said third support surfaces at an angle with respect to said first support surfaces less than the angles of said third support surfaces with respect to said first support surface; and, a support platform adjustably positioned on said trunk supporting section to maintain the trunk of a person resting on said first support surface in a sitting or prone position.
 2. A body support as set forth in claim 7 wherein said arm supporting section further defines hand holes through the extending portion of each of said third supporting surfaces.
 3. The body support of claim 2 further including positioning means for maintaining the longitudinal position of the trunk of a person on said trunk supporting section.
 4. The body support of claim 3 wherein said platform means includes a support platform and means for adjusting the position of said support platform along said trunk supporting section to maintain the trunk of the person resting on said first surface in a sitting or prone position.
 5. A body support as set forth in claim 4 further including a support stand operatively connected to said trunk supporting section, said head supporting section, and said arm supporting section for selectively positioning said third surface at a convenient angle.
 6. A body support for supporting a person while permitting substantially unrestricted movement of his arms and head comprising: a trunk supporting section defining a first concave support surface for supporting the trunk of body of the person; a head supporting section extending away from one end of said trunk supporting section and defining a second support surface centrally located on said one end of said first support surface for supporting the head of the person; and, an arm supporting section at said one end of said trunk supporting section on opposite sides of said head supporting section, said arm supporting section defining a pair of third supporting surfaces on opposite sides of said head supporting surface for supporting the arms of the person thereon, said first and second surfaces defining a first included obtuse angle therebetween in a longitudinally extending plane greater than 180* and less than 215*, said first surface and each of said third surfaces defining a second included obtuse angle therebetween in a longitudinally extending plane greater than 205* and less than 225*, said second included obtuse angle greater than said first included obtuse angle, and said second surface and each of said third surfaces defining a third included obtuse angle therebetween in a transversely extending plane greater than 180* and less than 225*, each of said third supporting surfaces having a sufficiently large support area to support substantially the entire length of the forearms of the person and said first, second, and third surfaces connected to each other through a smooth transition.
 7. A body support as set forth in claim 6 wherein said first angle is approxImately 195* and said second angles are approximately 215*.
 8. A body support as set forth in claim 6 further including a swing attachment including securing means for mounting on an existing structure and means connecting said securing means to said supporting sections for allowing said supporting sections to swing freely.
 9. A body support as set forth in claim 6 further including a support frame mounting said supporting sections, said support frame including a plurality of casters adapted to roll along a surface; and means for positioning the person on said trunk supporting section and for carrying substantially all of the weight of the person while at the same time allowing free use of the person''s legs. 